Death Grip Exists and it Affects A Whole Lot More Than Your Signal
By: Hillel Fuld
By now, we have all heard about the famous iPhone 4 antenna issues. In fact, if I had a dime for every person who I told that I am getting the new Apple device and responded “The antenna problem doesn’t bother you?” I would be at least two dollars richer. I am really not going to get into the debate about whether this is a real problem that is unique to Apple, I think the statistics about customers complaining or returning the phone speak for themselves.
In fact, as MG Siegler pointed out yesterday, the only reason this issue is still in the news is because Apple is leaving it there. Having said that, there was a very interesting video circulating the Web yesterday that I thought shed some light on this issue. Tawkon, a mobile app developed for BlackBerry and iPhone, that helps users minimize their exposure to radiation, produced a video showing the famous death grip on iPhone 4, BlackBerry, and Android. However, they attacked this issue from a totally different angle.
To sum up the video below, when you hold the various phones in a a way that the antenna is covered, the phone has to work a whole lot harder to reach the cellular tower and get sufficient signal for a decent quality phone call. When the phone works harder, the radiation it emits increases, it’s as simple as that.
The irony here is that the app actually supports Apple’s cause on two counts. Number one, as the video shows, the famous Death Grip that most people associate with the iPhone 4 is NOT unique to Apple. Secondly, and way more importantly, according to the findings of Tawkon, the Apple mobile device known as the iPhone actually emitts significantly less radiation than its main competitors.
Yet, Apple rejected Tawkon months ago, and despite the outcry of the online community that people want the right to know about their device’s radiation, so far no reversal from Apple. From what TechCrunch reports, the developers actually met with Apple and Apple gave some sort of indication that there is still a chance, but as of this morning, no Tawkon in the App Store.
In any case, take a look at this interesting video and let me know what you think about the Death Grip (that name has a whole new meaning in light of these new findings) on other phones, the radiation issue, and Apple’s unfortunate rejection of Tawkon. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter here.
